1niceharley

Need some help, other thoughts, for our Accord.
Rant On!
We bought this car in June of 2008 (IIRC) and we hate it! Finally after doing all the research (Thanks John) I got the dealer to fix the Heat/AC fan noises. BUT our ongoing problem is the Headlights. While driving (at night of course) the headlights go dim. The best way I can describe what it looks like is when you flip you high beams on the instant of dim light for the transition to/from High beam, is what we get. The only real place we see it is on the back roads away from city street lights. When you are in the city with street lights it is unnoticeable. But we spend our time out in the country and it bugs the hell out of us. This is a problem a lot of people are having with the 4cly 2008 Honda Accords. The dealer keeps telling us one of two things, Can't Duplicate or That's normal. It is hard to duplicate in a shop or when it's not dark or if you only drive it in the city after dark. They also say normal because of the Honda ELD (Electronic Load Distribution or something like that), they say the the Alternator goes into low output until high is needed and they say the flicker we see in the lights is the Alt going from low to high. Both are BS No car should have the lights Flicker or Go Dim while driving down the road. The other night on the way back to the house we were following this car, not aggressively or anything, and all of a sudden they pull off the road, we pass and then they pull back out on the road right after us.?.? Makes me Think that they thought we were flashing our lights and wanted to pass.?.? The only thing I found online that some one suggested was to put HID's in the car. Any thoughts? Do you think changing to HID's will keep the lights from flickering? I am so Tired taking it to the Dealer because they just don't care, And they are idiots. And I can't take the time off to take it to the other dealer all the way across town every time the cars needs service done. (Which has been a lot for this POS). In our immediate family's (mine and the wife's) we have had over 30 Honda's since the mid 80's and never had this amount of troubles. This is why we bought a Honda, so we wouldn't have troubles but right now I wish I could afford to get a different car and NEVER buy another Honda, but that is not in the budget.
Basically do you think the HID's would/could fix the stupid headlights??????
Rant Off
Thanks in advance! And sorry about the ranting, I am just at my wits end on this issue and I am getting NO help from Honda USA or my dealer.
Troy

1niceharley

Plus if you think the HID's will fix the problem, which kit should I go with?
Apexcone Raptor HID Kit (35w or 55w): HID Kits, DEPO Lights, BMW Bumpers & Lighting - DDM Tuning
9006(HB4) HID Conversion Kit : VVME.COM, Car Parts, HID KIT, Tattoo Kit, Ballast, Bulbs
HID Conversion Kit - Xenon Headlight Kits - Convert to HID
Xtralights~HID Conversion Kits, Xenon Replacement Bulbs, Headlights, Tail Lights - Search

Blind

if the alternator is cycling causing the flicker, I don't think changing the lights will do much.

However, an HID kit wired with a seperate relay kit going straight off the battery, would probably get a cleaner power signal.

I have the DDMtuning.com raptor hi/lo 35w 4500k lights in my truck and they're an awesome kit for the price. They sell the add-on harness with relay kit there to make it easy.

steinjr

Sorry to hear you are still having issues!

I would think it would be a safety concern.

Have you tried calling Honda Automobile Customer Service instead of just putting up with the dealership?

Business hours are Monday through Friday, 6:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Pacific Time. By Phone At our toll-free number: 1-800-999-1009

__________________
Yes officer... I am aware of how fast I was going!

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1niceharley

Yep already called Customer Service twice. The second time was right before this last time I took the car in to Huggins Honda. Still could not do anything. This time Huggins said they couldn't duplicate the problem, instead of just saying it was the ELD. Sorry, just sorry. I think it is a Saftey concern also! Honda said that "Honda's past saftey standards tests" I so wanted to say, but didn't, Yea so did Toyota's. Honda seems to think that the lights going dim is the way it was designed with the ELD system and that there is nothing wrong. It pisses us off.

1niceharley

Here is what I did to solve our headlight problem.
I did this yesterday and posted the following on a Accord Forum. Thought I would share with you all also. And for the ones that know me, Yes the car was dirty but I am on my way out to wash it right now. LOL.
I installed our Digital Retro-Solutions HID 5000K kit today. Please don't look at how dirty the car is, it rained the other day and it rained today. It took about 2 hours. I didn't remove the bumper, I just removed the front wheels and went through the finder-well.

Here is the drivers side parts.

Here is how I bent the ballast bracket, actually I bent it to a 90 degree, when all was said and done.

The Ballast installed drivers side. I grounded the ballast on the same bolt the battery is grounded to the car body. The wire I am holding, I just placed up behind the ballast and between the headlight.

The Power wire for the relay kit.

The Relay mounted next to the battery ground.

The passenger side installed. I grounded the ballast on the bolt that holds the power steering pump reservoir.

Everything worked great when I tested it, and I assume it will work when I get the car out on the road. When I get back from our road trip and get the car cleaned back up I will try and take some pics of the light output.

steinjr

Very nice install... as always! ")

__________________
Yes officer... I am aware of how fast I was going!

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aestrello

Wow that car is DIRTY....
Hope it took care of your problem

__________________
Anthony

aestrello

Wow that car is DIRTY....
Hope it took care of your problem

1niceharley

Yep the HID's fixed the dimming.

mikelemoine

Might want to file a report with the NHTSA as they need to know about potential safety issues. While your's is fixed via a nice mod, there are a hundred thousand little old ladies out there with the potential for impaired vision. They will likely look a little further into complaints these days considering the heads that are rolling over Toyota. Maybe Honda needs a slap for their lackadaisical attitude to your issues.

Office of Defects Investigation (ODI), File A Safety Complaint

Office of Defects Investigation (ODI), File A Safety Complaint

1niceharley

I already filed a complaint. But I am completely happy with the HID's! Now I am saving up to put them in the truck. Can't believe what a difference they made.

steinjr

Good to hear that they have fixed your issues.

Did you have any drivers that thought you had your brights on?

__________________
Yes officer... I am aware of how fast I was going!

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1niceharley

Nope. or not that anyone flashed us. I think some drivers that I was following didn't care for them much, but if your going to do 60mph in a 70mph zone and drive besides someone that is also doing 60 (basically take up both sides of a dual lane road) expect me to follow close. There were some Major Idiots on the road on our drive back. The drive to MO we didn't have any stupid drivers but on the way home everyone was being stupid. The holidays bring out the real winners.

steinjr

I might need to get a set of these for my truck

__________________
Yes officer... I am aware of how fast I was going!

graphic by S|ck